Samsung's new foldable phone: Cheaper, but still a novelty

SUMMARY

Samsung on Tuesday unveiled a new foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip, its second attempt to sell consumers on phones with bendable screens and clamshell designs.The new phone can unfold from a small square upward into a traditional smartphone form, and will go on sale February 14 starting at $1,380. The company announced the phone at a product event in San Francisco.

By APFeb 13, 2020 6:34:08 AM IST (Updated)

Samsung on Tuesday unveiled a new foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip, its second attempt to sell consumers on phones with bendable screens and clamshell designs. The Fold, which carries a price tag of nearly $2,000, folds at a vertical crease rather than horizontally as a flip-phone design would. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The new phone can unfold from a small square upward into a traditional smartphone form, and will go on sale February 14 starting at $1,380. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Rebecca Hirst, head of UK Mobile Product Development, speaks in front of photos of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Phones. The foldable phones represent manufacturers' attempt to energize a market where sales have slowed. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Many consumers are holding onto old phones longer, in part because new phone features offer increasingly marginal benefits. But these foldable models come with higher price tags and are likely to appeal for now mostly to tech enthusiasts and others at the forefront of technology. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The Z Flip can stay open at different angles for use watching videos or taking photos. When the phone is closed, it will take selfies and display notifications in a small window on the cover. Unfolded, its screen measures 6.7 inches diagonally. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Samsung says it added fibres to the gap between the hinge and the phone to keep out dust and improve hinge function, likely to address shortcomings of the Galaxy Fold. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A woman holds a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Phone displayed at the Unpacked 2020 event in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

People look at different Samsung Galaxy S20 5G phones displayed at the Unpacked 2020 event in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

On the more traditional front, Samsung offers its S series. In a nod to the start of the 2020s, the South Korean company showed off the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra, skipping directly to the S20 from its previous S10 series. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)